Development and Evaluation of an Inverse Solution Technique for Studying Helicopter Maneuverability and Agility

Abstract

An inverse solution technique for determining the maximum maneuvering performance of a helicopter using smooth, pilotlike control inputs is presented. Also described is a piloted simulation experiment performed on the NASA Ames Advanced Cab and Visual System to investigate the accuracy of the solution resulting from this technique. The maneuverability and agility capability of the helicopter math model was varied by varying the pitch and roll damping, the maximum pitch and roll rate, and the maximum load-factor capability. Three maneuvers were investigated: a 180-degree turn, a longitudinal pop-up, and a lateral jink. The inverse solution technique yielded accurate predictions of pilot-in-the-loop maneuvering performance for two of the three maneuvers. For the purposes of this study, maneuverability is defined as the maximum achievable time rate of change of the velocity vector at any point in the flight envelope, and agility is defined as the maximum achievable time-rate-of-change of the acceleration vector at any point in the flight envelope.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 1991
Accession Number
ADA242304

Entities

People

  • Matthew S. Whalley

Organizations

  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accuracy
  • Aerospace Craft
  • Aircrafts
  • Equations Of Motion
  • Flight Paths
  • Ground Effect
  • Helicopters
  • Level Flight
  • Maneuverability
  • Maneuvers
  • Rotary Wing Aircraft
  • Simulations
  • Simulators
  • Standards
  • Task Performance And Analysis
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Vehicles

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Adaptive Control and Estimation with Uncertainty in Dynamic Systems.
  • Aviation Science / Aeronautics.